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Wireless Network Security Considerations

<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A question I get asked a lot of times is "How do I <STRONG><EM>secure</EM></STRONG> my wireless router from outside use?".</FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>?</DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Some people are not afraid to share their broadband connection and never think twice about their wireless router configuration.? As long as you have a physical firewall between your router and the rest of your home network, then I say "More power to you".?? However, if you don't want to share your wireless network beyond your house walls, you'll want to secure it.</FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>?</DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have found the following configuration on my Linksys WRT54G to work pretty well:</FONT></DIV><UL><LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>Change the SSID - This is the wireless network "name".? On my wireless router,?the default?was "linksys".</FONT> <LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>Stop broadcasting the SSID - This is how Windows XP and the other wireless card drivers "find" an available network.? You'll have to manually configure your wireless client machines to know the SSID in order to find your own network.</FONT> <LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>Change the admin password - Don't keep it as the default "admin" since everyone and their dog knows that one.</FONT> <LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>Enable the MAC Address filter - Only allow known computers onto your wireless network.</FONT> <LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>Only enable the highest protocol - I only enable the "G" protocol since all my machines are capable of handling this.</FONT> <LI><FONT face=Arial size=2>Use WPA instead of WEP - WEP can be hacked too easily.? WPA won't be far behind, but with a PreShared Key, at least it will keep 'em guessing.</FONT></LI></UL><DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Feel free to comment and offer your suggestions on how you secure your wireless router.</FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT>?</DIV><DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dale</FONT></DIV><img src ="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/aggbug/14619.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /><p><div class="blogdisclaim"><a href="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/archive/2005/09/12/14619.aspx">This post originally appeared on an external website</a></div>

How to stop virii and worms from spreading

<DIV><DIV style="CLEAR: both"></DIV>One of the first things I do when helping a family member or friend with a new computer is to make sure that they have two things installed:<BR><UL><LI>A firewall - software or hardware <LI>Antivirus software</LI></UL><P>If everyone on the Internet had these two things installed and <STRONG><EM>kept up-to-date</EM></STRONG>, there wouldn't be a very big "blip" at all when a new virus or worm is released.</P><P>One other thing I make sure of is that they have visited the <A href="FONT">http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/"><FONT color=#5588aa>Windows Update </FONT></A>site and installed all of the Critical Updates and most (if not all) of the Recommended Updates. I haven't had a patch break a system, especially a new system, in a very long time (10+ years). Microsoft works very hard to ensure backward-compatibility with the thousands of PC's in the world.</P><P>So, how are you helping to secure the systems you own/manage? Feel free to comment.</P><P>Dale</P><P> </P></DIV><img src ="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/aggbug/14620.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /><p><div class="blogdisclaim"><a href="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/archive/2005/09/12/14620.aspx">This post originally appeared on an external website</a></div>

Patching day still a work in progress - Infoworld

<P>Something I found on another blog and wanted to share:</P><P><A href="FONT">http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/081505-patch.html"><FONT color=#5588aa>Patching day still a work in progress</FONT></A><BR>John Fontana, Network World<BR>August 15, 2005<BR>In what has become the technology equivalent of a monthly tetanus shot, IT administrators wait for the second Tuesday of the month knowing that what doesn't kill them will make their networks stronger. Stronger and more secure, because that is the day, known as <STRONG>Patch Tuesday</STRONG>, that Microsoft issues its monthly round of "security bulletins." These patches close holes in anything and everything, such as last week's crop, which included Internet Explorer (again) and Windows print spooler subsystems. ...While Microsoft isn't thinking of changing the patch cycle, it is not standing still. A few months ago, the company released its long-anticipated corporate patch tools: Windows Server Updates Services, Microsoft Update and Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0.</P><P> </P><img src ="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/aggbug/14622.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /><p><div class="blogdisclaim"><a href="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/archive/2005/09/12/14622.aspx">This post originally appeared on an external website</a></div>

How to stop viruses and worms from spreading

<DIV style="CLEAR: both"></DIV><DIV>One of the first things I do when helping a family member or friend with a new computer is to make sure that they have two things installed:<BR></DIV><UL><LI>A firewall - software or hardware <LI>Antivirus software</LI></UL><P>and optionally but highly recommended:</P><UL><LI>Anti-spyware</LI></UL><P>If everyone on the Internet had these things installed and <STRONG><EM>kept up-to-date</EM></STRONG>, there wouldn't be a very big "blip" at all when a new virus or worm is released.</P><P>One other thing I make sure of is that they have visited the <A href="FONT">http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/"><FONT color=#5588aa>Windows Update </FONT></A>site and installed all of the Critical Updates and most (if not all) of the Recommended Updates. I haven't had a patch break a system, especially a new system, in a very long time (10+ years). Microsoft works very hard to ensure backward-compatibility with the thousands of PC's in the world.</P><P>So, how are you helping to secure the systems you own/manage? Feel free to comment.</P><P>Dale</P><P> </P><img src ="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/aggbug/14620.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /><p><div class="blogdisclaim"><a href="http://myitforum.techtarget.com/blog/dnemec/archive/2005/09/12/14620.aspx">This post originally appeared on an external website</a></div>

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